DIY Lap-top Cover

I like to think of myself as fairly technologically astute. Thanks to my father, I’ve been surrounded by computers and computer parts for as long as I can remember (I have vivid memories of playing a Barbie computer game using a floppy disk….when they were actually FLOPPY). Now a days, I can’t imagine myself without a laptop and a USB drive, though I am getting more comfortable with the whole concept of “cloud” storage.

Another trait I inherited from my father is the keen ability to keep things for a very long time. I’m borderline obsessive about the things I own, trying my best to keep them in like-new condition. For instance, my last laptop I owned for over ten years. Yes, by the end, it was quite slow, but it did the job. Only after it stopped holding a charge, and the charger itself seemed to short out, did I go out and buy something new. I was actually working on a paper and planning to take Amtrak down to the conference I was presenting it at, so I needed a laptop quickly (as usual, I was writing the paper as I was traveling to the conference).

I bought an Asus. It was cheap and did the job; however, physically, I hated it. It shows finger prints and scratches like they’re part of the design (the images above really don’t do it justice. When the light hit it just right, the case looked all sorts of messed up).

I felt embarrassed to use it in public (mostly because it went against my own aesthetic values). So, finally, I decided to do something about it. My answer? Mod Podge!

I’ve decoupaged forever (my old clarinet case is covered in magazine cut-outs and a thick enough coat of mod podge to keep them on for a lifetime). So, I thought, why not use this on the front of my lap top? I researched to make sure there would be no negative side effects for gluing on top of the cover. Once I decided it would be safe, I went ahead and found some fabric I had lying around the house. Remember this?

I cut it to size, glued it on, and covered it with a thin layer of Mod Podge (careful not to drip any on vital computer parts).

And the final product….(the mod podge was still drying at this point, but I could see that it had the effect I was looking for. Bye bye unsightly scratches and fingerprints!)

If you are thinking of covering your laptop or similar device, but aren’t too keen on something so permanent, I read this great tutorial on using contact paper from the Tatertots and Jello blog!